Day Twenty-Three of Get it Down–DS9
DS9 is one of those all-American kids that you just love. He has a freckled face and a cheerful disposition that just makes people happy. His classmates picked up on this when he was in Kindergarten and they voted for him to receive the Citizenship award–for someone who was always kind to others, respectful of teachers, and just a great kid. He is that!
A few years back we turned a closet into a bedroom and let some of our boys have their own room for a change. Although we offered that to DS16 first, he declined. He prefers to share a room with someone. So DS15 and DS12 happily took the extra room and the closet as their two rooms, and DS9, also happily, agreed to room with DS16. They were roommates for about two years, and then we moved.
Now, as much as our whole family loves DS16, he can be a challenging roommate. I would ask, what teenage boy isn’t, what with stinky feet and armpits and farting contests and such. But DS16 has a few annoying habits. He snores, for one. He also puts on his MP3 and howls sings. Loud. And he talks as he is going to sleep. So he’s not the most sought after roommate.
We moved to a new house, and our separated boys have had to recombine rooms. DS9 sweetly asked if he might try a different roommate this time. Well, of course–he’s been with DS16 for two years, so it’s probably time for a change! When DS16 learned that he was getting a new roommate–DS12–he was sad. Not that he doesn’t love DS12, but he really enjoyed sweet DS9 as a roommate. DS9’s response was to say that maybe he really should room with DS16. The kid, at age 9, was willing to set his own desires and agenda aside for the sake of his brother. And this was no minor decision like giving up a Coke on a Sunday. This was a decision that would affect him day in and day out for quite some time.
But that’s the kind of person DS9 is. And yeah, just like with my other guys, some of this is just they way they are. But some comes from living with a brother with an extra chromosome. I even think in this case that DS9 sees DS16 often sacrifice his desires to do something for someone else, and he has learned from that. He also has an understanding of how very important it is to feel like you fit in, and he recognized that DS16 fit in with him as a roommate, and he wanted to honor that. It is a character trait that plays out in his friendships and relationships at school, on the soccer field, and at play with his friends.